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This article shows you how to configure advanced settings for the Visual Studio editor. You can customize difference display modes, code completion behavior, scrolling sensitivity, and text formatting. The advanced editor features allow you to improve your editing experience and performance.
Access the advanced Text Editor options
In Visual Studio, select Tools > Options. In the Options pane, expand the All Settings > Text Editor > Advanced section, and configure the desired settings. Related settings are available in the All Settings > Text Editor > Touchpad and mouse wheel scrolling sensitivity section.
Editor horizontal scrollbar location
Use this setting to configure the behavior of the horizontal scroll bar in the Visual Studio IDE. Select from the following options:
- Adjust according to available space: Dynamically adjust the size of the scrollbar based on the available space in the current view.
- Always show in the editor tray: Display the scrollbar within the bounds of the editor tray that shows other available actions.
- Always show above the editor tray: Display the scrollbar above the editor tray within its own space.
The following sections describe the other available settings.
In Visual Studio, select Tools > Options. In the Options dialog, expand the Text Editor > Advanced section, and configure the desired settings.
Configure Difference display options
Use these options to control how the Difference viewer displays changes when you add, remove, or modify lines of text.
Difference display mode
The Whole line option is enabled by default. You can choose from the following options to customize highlighting and outlining:
- Whole line: Line differences are displayed to take up the entire width of the viewport.
- Code contour: Line differences are displayed only to the last character on each line.
- Block outline: Line and word differences are shown as outlined rectangles.
- Mixed outline: Line differences are shown as outlined rectangles and word differences are shown as colored rectangles.
Difference overview margin
Show the difference overview margin
When this setting is enabled (default), Visual Studio adds a margin next to the scrollbar so you can view the difference between Git commits. Red text in the margin indicates a deletion and green indicates an addition.
Click to peek in margin
The Single click setting is selected by default. You can customize how Peek Definition works when viewing differences between Git commits:
- Single click (default): Opens Peek Difference with a single click.
- Double click: Requires a double click to open Peek Difference.
- None (or Off): Turns off the Peek Difference UI.
Configure code completion options
Use these options to control IntelliSense and code completion behavior.
Responsive code completion
When this setting is enabled (default), the editor suggests possible completions for your code based on its context and language semantics. Clear this option to turn off autocomplete mode.
Default IntelliSense completion mode
Choose from one of the following completion mode settings:
- Automatic (default): Completes on punctuation and special characters.
- Tab-only: Completes only on tab.
- Last used: Preserves the last setting you used with Ctrl+Alt+Space.
Word Based Suggestions in files handled by TextMate grammars
When this setting is enabled, Visual Studio provides autocomplete functionality based on words typed rather than code for files by using TextMate grammars. Clear this option to turn off word-based suggestions.
TextMate parser line limit
Use this setting to increase or decrease the maximum parser line limit. The default value is 10000. If you change the value, you need to restart the application.
Tip
For more information about TextMate grammars, see Add Visual Studio editor support for other languages.
Configure editor display and behavior options
Use these options to customize how the editor displays and interacts with your code.
Allow CodeLens to displace the caret line
By default, CodeLens information appears over a code line. When you enable this setting, the CodeLens information displays directly in your code line at your current caret position.
Show file level CodeLens indicator
When this setting is enabled, Visual Studio shows the CodeLens indicator at the file level.
Box selection
Use box selection
Enable this setting to disable the new multi-caret selection behavior in Visual Studio 2022 or later, which provides the following functionality:
- Adapts "block selection" similarly as does the multi-caret functionality in Visual Studio Code.
- Supports copying and pasting a different section of text with each caret, instead of just a single block-shaped section of text.
- Moves each caret when you press the arrow keys, and doesn't dismiss the block selection.
Note
When this setting is enabled, the option applies the box selection behavior available in Visual Studio 2019 and earlier versions. Specifically, the option enables you to select a rectangular section of items when you select Alt and then drag your mouse to highlight text (or select Shift+Alt+Left/Up/Right/Down to highlight text). This option is limited when you press an arrow key. Visual Studio dismisses the box selection and returns to a single caret.
Adaptive formatting
When this setting is enabled (default), Visual Studio recognizes whether you prefer to use tabs or spaces to indent code based on your most recently updated file. When the setting is cleared, Visual Studio uses the Tools > Options settings under All Settings > Languages > Defaults > Tabs instead.
Use adaptive formatting
When this setting is enabled (default), Visual Studio recognizes whether you prefer to use tabs or spaces to indent code based on your most recently updated file. When the setting is cleared, Visual Studio uses the Tools > Options settings under Text Editor > All Languages > Tabs instead.
Tip
You can also change how Visual Studio manages your preferred indent style by using an .editorconfig file. For more information, see Create portable, custom editor settings with EditorConfig.
Compress blank lines
Use this setting to force compression of blank lines in the current view. This action can help to reduce empty space in the view. The setting is disabled by default.
Compress lines that don't have any alphanumeric characters
Use this setting to force compression of any lines in the current view that don't contain alphanumeric characters. This action can help to remove unnecessary content in the view. The setting is disabled by default.
Indexing with Find in Files
Use indexing with Find in Files
When this setting is enabled, Visual Studio uses indexing when you run the Find in Files action. Clear this option if you don't what the action to include indexing.
Fallback support for C#, C++, Java, and TypeScript GoTo symbol navigation
Select this option to disable TextMate fallback support for symbol search, which can help improve system performance. (Available in Visual Studio 2022 version 17.0 through 17.3 only.)
Configure copy and paste options
Use these options to control how Visual Studio handles copy and paste operations.
Copy rich text on copy/cut
When this setting is enabled (default), Visual Studio copies text that includes colors and ligatures. Clear this option to copy flat text instead.
Tip
Unselecting this option improves the responsiveness and performance of Visual Studio during a copy/paste operation. Rich copy can cause UI delays and temporary hangs.
Max length
Use this setting to increase or decrease the maximum character count of rich text you can copy or cut from your code. The default value is 10240. Beyond this limit, text is still copied, but as plain text rather than rich text.
Use accurate classification
Select this option to allow for semantic colorization. A "wait" dialog might appear after a few seconds. Syntactic colorization is fast to copy, while semantic colorization is slower. Semantic information allows for richer and more accurate colorization. (Available in Visual Studio 2022 through version 17.8.)
Configure background task options
Use these options to control how Visual Studio manages background tasks while you're typing.
Auto cancel long running auxiliary operations on typing
When this setting is enabled (default), Visual Studio stops background tasks when you're typing in the text editor. This option controls how aggressive Visual Studio is about canceling work that might temporarily freeze the UI while you type.
Load editor components asynchronously
When this setting is enabled, Visual Studio loads the editor components asynchronously as they're available, rather than loading all components at the same time. This approach might result in a slight visual delay as the components are prepared. This setting was previously available as the Preview feature Initialize editor parts asynchronously during solution load. (Some extensions might not support this option.)
Automatically adjust maximum allowed typing latency
When this setting is enabled (default), Visual Studio adjusts the maximum typing latency a feature or extension can cause before it cancels the action.
Maximum allowed typing latency in milliseconds
Select this option if you prefer to set a specific maximum latency that Visual Studio applies while you're typing in the text editor.
Configure the horizontal scrollbar
Use the Editor horizontal scrollbar location setting to configure the behavior of the horizontal scroll bar in the Visual Studio IDE. Select from the following options:
- Adjust according to available space: Dynamically adjust the size of the scrollbar based on the available space in the current view.
- Always show in the editor tray: Display the scrollbar within the bounds of the editor tray that shows other available actions.
- Always show above the editor tray: Display the scrollbar above the editor tray within its own space.
Configure text formatting and rendering options
Use these options to fine-tune how Visual Studio formats and renders text based on your hardware.
Text formatting method
This setting lets you configure how text is formatted. The default value is Automatic. You can choose from two other options:
- Ideal: Use the highest quality text formatting.
- Display: Optimize the formatting based on display performance.
Choose the option that best allows you to fine-tune text formatting in the editor based on your specific hardware.
For more information, see TextFormattingMode.
Text rendering method
This setting lets you configure how text is rendered. The default value is Automatic. You can choose from three other options:
- ClearType: Use ClearType rendering for smoother text.
- Greyscale: Use greyscale anti-aliasing.
- Aliased: Use aliased rendering without anti-aliasing.
Choose the option that best allows you to fine-tune text rendering in the editor based on your specific hardware.
For more information, see TextRenderingMode.
Touchpad and mouse wheel scrolling sensitivity
Use these options to improve scrolling performance in Visual Studio.
Configure scrolling options
Use the Touchpad and mouse wheel scrolling sensitivity options to improve scrolling performance in Visual Studio.
Vertical scrolling sensitivity (lines per scroll)
Use this setting to adjust how many vertical lines you want to scroll in each user-interface action. The default value is 3.
Horizontal scrolling sensitivity (characters per scroll)
Use this setting to adjust how many characters you want to scroll in each user-interface action. The default value is 1.
Fast scroll multiplier
This setting increases the scrolling speed when you use the Alt keyboard shortcut with the mouse or keyboard arrow keys. The default multiplication factor is 5, which scrolls five times faster than normal.
Middle click to scroll
When this setting is enabled, you can use the middle button on the mouse to scroll in the editor window.